A
Nigerian man accused of faking romance to swindle a New Zealand woman
of nearly a quarter-million dollars faced his day in court Monday.
Nigeria's
anti-graft agency arraigned Akintunde Vincent Abiodun, 37, at Lagos
State High court on 14 counts of forgery and obtaining money by false
pretenses.
The
agency quoted Bonnici as saying she had met Akintunde on an Internet
dating website and fell in love with him.
“She
said the accused started collecting money from her after he claimed
he was in possession of gemstone worth $18,050,000, which he
purportedly inherited from his father,” according to a court
filing.
“Akintunde
hoodwinked her into believing that he was coming to New Zealand to
settle down with her,” the agency added, saying the money sent to
the suspect was received in Malaysia by co-conspirators. The
man pleaded not guilty to the charges but was denied bail due to
flight risk.
The
trial is due to continue on March 7.
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